Do you think Brunner will be back next year? Ar you happy about this? I really am a Brunner fan bigtime, even though he isn't really all that good except for finishing. I kinda think he's like the anti Filpula, who is pretty good at a lot of things except getting it done. What kind of contract would you offer him?

Do you think Brunner will be back next year? Ar you happy about this? I really am a Brunner fan bigtime, even though he isn't really all that good except for finishing. I kinda think he's like the anti Filpula, who is pretty good at a lot of things except getting it done. What kind of contract would you offer him?

I think fair is 2 years 5 million! He will be back and will be better. Also he will get more ice time next season maybe beside datsyuk

Last night he thanked all the fans for a great first year in Detroit and can't wait for next year. So it def sounds like he'll be back. My guess is Kenny will give him somewhere between 2-2.5 mil. Would've been a lot more if he had kept his pace going from the first 20 games. But now that he has an NHL season under his belt he will surely improve and be even better than this season. I'm thinking the deal will be 3-4 years

I feel very confident that Brunner will be back. Just the way he interacted with the team and his body language suggested that he felt like a rookie honored to be playing around a lot of other great NHL'ers, even though his age and experience level arguably make him a "veteran". His comfort level with Zetterberg (who played with him on Zug) also helps, and he worked well playing with some of the younger forwards.

If it's a 2-year deal, I'm probably okay with anything up to $3 million per year. That might be a bit on the high side, but he's a fringe 2nd-line winger, and there are suggestions in his game that if he figured just a thing or two more out, he could be a 30-goal scorer. Probably more of a 20-25 goal scorer, but certainly a guy we would like back.

The total (and predictable failures) of Monster, Sammy, and Tootoo notwithstanding, suddenly a number of contracts on this team look like pretty good deals. Franzen's "value" is well-documented (though will cause problems later), and 3 more years of Abdelkader at $1.8 million suddenly feels like a steal. It might be time for Cleary and Filppula to go, as we will need to sign Nyquist and Andersson.

I think the way he finished the regular season is good for us. We'll get him at a discounted rate compared to what we probably would've had to pay if he'd kept up his torrid pace. 3yrs at anywhere from 2.2-2.8 works for me. He's only going to get better.

2.5 mil per year for two or three years. And I'm thrilled about it. But a little weight on this guy and build up his strength and I think he's going to be a whole lot better. He's already noticeably better defensively, and a full training camp will only improve that as well.

Yea, I agree, really it could be anywhere between 2 million and 3.5 million. I'd love to see him get a bit more physical of course, but either way, I'm happy we have someone who seems so happy to be part of the team.

I'm impressed with his desire to improve. He's steadily been getting better with defensive positioning and back checking, and has been getting stronger on the puck as well. I think he's an investment worth hanging onto. I hope he stays in Detroit.

depends. yeshe has some offensive skills. he is also fairly young-26/27. But it will coe down to how much he wants. 2-3 million for 3-4 years, ok. 4+ million or a 8 year deal? no thanks. same can be said for Cleary, Filppula, and Miller. We can only keep 14 forwards and we do need some more size, toughness, and gol scoring.

Hell ya he will. Brunner was great, you could see his evolution through out the season. He was terrible defensively early, by the end of the year him and Nyquist were puck hawks. Also whenever he was on the ice for a Wing to score, I enjoyed seeing him acting happier then said player.

So, you guys think he is worth a little less than Sammy? A little less than we were prepared to pay for Hudler? And a chunk less than Hudler's market value?

I like him over Hudler, no doubt.

I like him, hope he returns, but I have too many questions about his game, etc., to figure out his value at the moment. Just be glad it's KH and not me writing up the offer.

IMO yes. Hudler never really seemed like he would attempt to approve all of his liabilities in a game like Brunner. Hudler worked on speed but not on d. Also Brunner is faster then both, takes better shots then them as well. I guess I just feel he is an all around better player then the both of them, and if we can get him for a much cheaper price I'm all for it. I think we should be able to considering he hasn't had a long track record, and others to compare him to have failed (Lieno/Brunnstrom) so he won't have as much room to negotiate.

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On pace for a 45-50 point rookie season in a full season and then 3rd on the team in playoff scoring. Ya he better be back. Its true he tailed off the 2nd half of the season but you can expect that from a rookie playing the north american game for the first time. If Holland doesnt sign him its a major fail on his part.

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He will be back next season. He had a chance to get used to the NA style game and did about as well as anybody could expect. Give him a full off season to train and go through a full training camp with pre-season games will only help him more.